Stocks fell today as protests in Spain fueled concern that Europe's debt crisis will worsen. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 0.4 percent to 1,435.43 as of 3:03 p.m. in New York.

Banks aren't lending enough to generate asset price bubbles, Evans said in response to a question from the audience.

Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota endorsed a variation of Evans' proposal last week, arguing that a more explicit commitment to keep policy accommodative would help provide the economy with needed support.

Kocherlakota advocates keeping rates low until unemployment falls below 5.5 percent, unless inflation hits 2.25 percent. That's a change from May, when he said that the Fed may need to exit from its record monetary accommodation as early as this year. He doesn't vote on policy this year.

Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker dissented from the FOMC's Sept. 13 decision, saying in a National Public Radio interview that the move risks pushing up prices while doing little to spur job growth.

Richard Fisher of Dallas and Philadelphia's Plosser also said they opposed additional accommodation. The two district bank presidents, neither of whom votes on policy this year, cited the risk the move stokes inflation expectations.


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